![]() Some years on Sacrificial Giving Sunday, I find myself having to do some very creative thinking in order to come up with a connection (or maybe even to force a connection) between the scripture readings and the subject of the day. Not this year. The two widows in the readings make creative thinking or forced connections unnecessary. They proclaim the sacrificial giving message loud and clear: Give! Give without counting the cost; give not from your surplus, but from your substance. Give not what’s left over, give even when nothing much may be left over. Give as the widow from Zarephath gave when she used her last measure of flour and her final few drops of oil to bake some bread for the great prophet, Elijah. Give as the widow of the gospel gave when she placed her two paltry coins – all she had to live on – into the temple treasury. But let’s get real. What about more worldly wisdom? What about “charity begins at home?” What about “God helps those who help themselves?” Well, it seems that today’s scriptures want to take us to a different place, to a place where faith rules, not fear, where piety has first place, not mere practicality. In a word, the unquestioning and uncalculating generosity of the two widows is meant to challenge each of us to step back and examine both the manner and the measure of our own giving. That’s today’s message as I read it. To make it come to life for you, I have invited Anna Horton and David Unger, two wonderful, young, highly committed parishioners whose marriage I was privileged to celebrate this past summer, to share some of their thoughts with you. ANNA David on the other hand was raised in a traditional Catholic family: a family who were stewards of their faith, and handed it down to their children. Like many of you, he grew up in a community like this one: a broad, Catholic community which connected faith and service. And we are here today to tell you some of our story, and ask you to prayerfully consider the relationship between your faith and your service.' DAVID Well, we are all called to serve and to give in different ways. When we speak about Sacrificial Giving, we are talking about this Cathedral parish. And far from being merely the seat for the bishop, or merely the artistic and musical and ecclesiastical center for Catholics in Western Washington, this is our home. It welcomes us when we are celebrating, as when Anna and I were married here this summer. It welcomes us when we are grieving. Our home here welcomes us whether we’re reveling in the high holy days or just want to experience the quiet of the Friday evening TaizĂ© prayer. Sacrificial Giving is what makes it possible for this parish community to reach out with love to the poor, the needy, and the elderly, to celebrate the Church’s liturgy with beauty and dignity, to offer faith formation, to pay our staff a living wage, to sustain our musical and cultural programs, and to maintain this great house of worship. These are the things that our home here at St. James provides. ANNA DAVID Whether or not you actually spend the night on the floor for the Winter Shelter, you should know that when you participate in Sacrificial giving, you are there. You may or may not serve a hot meal at the Cathedral Kitchen, but if you support this community financially, you are there. You may not teach a Sunday school class, or sing in the choir, or drive seniors to an outing, or clean an oven in a chore ministry, but through Sacrificial Giving, you are a part of all these things. You can be a direct part by performing these acts of service, and you can be a part by actively, thoughtfully contributing to the material support of our parish again this year. ANNA We are all blessed with different treasures, talents and amounts of time to share – and all these blessings come from God. And at the core of the faith we share is the priority of giving back what we’ve received. By not sharing our time, talent and treasure, we not only sell ourselves short of receiving the blessings of giving, we sell God short. DAVID It is easy to say, “Hey, there are plenty of people wealthier than I am. Let them give more to fill the gap.” But that wasn’t the widow’s response in the Gospel story we just heard. And that’s not what we are asked to do today. We are asked to consider what we can give, and to consider how we can offer of ourselves. We are the body of Christ. We are called to build his church on earth.
And it is not just priests, and it is not just in Rome, and it is not just
someone else’s responsibility. It is for us, and through us, and because
of us that the church continues its mission. We see the face of Christ in
others, and we are the face of Christ for others. So whatever it is that
you have to give – time, and talent and treasure – these are all “good” gifts.
And these good gifts come from above. Give freely, with generosity, with
love. Anna Horton & David Unger
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